Happy Birthday Lilly Grace!!!

My baby turned the big 1 yesterday!!!! I know I know it sounds so cliche to say "where does the time go" but really, "where does the time go?" It seems like I just found out we were having a new baby and here she is a year old.

Bear with me as I remember a few moments from the last year!!!

We found out Lil was on her way on Valentine's Day and her brother was very very sick with the flu. We were excited anyway and he broke the news to Nana by telling her that he was going to be a big sister...hmmm I'm thinking he was delirious with fever but it was cute! My pregnancy with Lilly was very similiar to my pregnancy with Noah. I was sick for about 7 months!!! Whoever coined the phrase "morning sickness" must have been lucky is all I know, I had morning, noon, night, and middle of the night sickness. But aside from that, my pregnancy passed by smoothly and rather uneventful.

Lil's original due date was October 25th, so imagine my surprise when I awoke on September 26th to find that my water had broken a full month early. I wake travis up and he is still half asleep and replies "OK what does that mean?" I inform him that it means that we need to go to the hospital." He says "OK" and then proceeds to go back to sleep. I then convince him he should probably get up and he finally rousts himself up enough to realize what I'm saying. Keep in mind, we have been moved into the house for 3 weeks and I"m supposed to have another month to prepare for this baby. Meaning there are no bags packed, there is no name picked, etc. etc. No time to worry about that though. I'm contemplating whether or not I have time to wash my hair and my dear hubby convinces me that we should probably go on to the hospital...Thank goodness for this (this is important to the story later!!!)

We arrive at the hospital at around 6ish. They confirm that indeed my water has broken, (Yes thank you very much, I tried to tell you that it had...is this something that you can really be unsure about?") I'm experiencing very mild contractions at this point. Also up until this point my baby has been in a breech position, so we have been told all along we would be having a C-section. They wheel the ultrasound machine into the room and find out, lo and behold, my little acrobat has flipped at the last minute (probably what broke my water a month early) and we are no longer having a C-section.

OK humorous break in story. (Humorous now...not so humorous then) After experiencing labor with Noah I thought I knew a thing or two....hahaha. I had a little demerol with Noah and it made me very very groggy and unable to focus on what was going on. I tried my darndest to get an epidural (which they administered twice!) and to no avail the medication never took. I mean NEVER TOOK. Nothing ever felt different. Very fun when you deliver a 9 lb baby naturally...So I decided that the demerol hadn't helped and I refused it for this labor. Let me repeat...I refused all pain medication through my IV. I found out that it really had helped with labor with Noah...too late. I've already told my nurse I didn't want it.

I'm still feeling pretty good when they hook me up to the devil of a drug...pitocin. This takes my mild little contractions to full blow being run over by a train contractions in about 3 minutes. Apparently my body is very sensitive to pitocin.... Anyway, I have nothing to dull my mind or make me groggy at this point...so I spend the time between contractions not as you hear recommended (relaxing, focusing, whatever) nope I spend it trying to convince travis to get the IV out of my arm and to take me home! The pain apparently is getting to me at this point!

Anyway, short story even shorter, I ask for my epidural. While I am leaned over so the dude can give me an epidural I inform my nurse that I'm feeling the urge to push. Those of you who have experienced this know that this is not something you can control, your body takes over and you just go with it. She ignores me and the doctor is trying to find the spot to put the epidural. Another contraction hits and I look at my nurse and again say, "I have to push." Apparently she hears me this time and tells the doctor to quit...rats another foiled attempt at an epidural (I hear they're wonderful). Basically I then am moved around by the nurses and with one push Lilly Grace makes her appearance full speed ahead into the world. She didn't even wait for the doctor, my wonderful nurses delivered all 6 lbs 12 oz of her after about 3 hours of labor.

OK during labor I was regretting the decision for no narcotics but as soon as Lilly was born I didn't regret it at all. With Noah, I had to fight the grogginess of the drug to truly experience the first moments with my newborn and I didn't have to with her. I lay there listening to her first cries and thinking it was one of the most precious sounds I've ever heard in the world.

I also decided to keep her in the room with me for longer and we did skin to skin contact for nearly 2 hours. She was able to breastfeed very soon and being born and she was very calm and alert.

Fast forward a little. Lilly Grace has been nothing but a joy to our family this year. She has been a very loving and easy going little girl. She took to nursing like a champ and continues doing it to this day. She slept through the night at 5 weeks and she has been sick only 2 times. She is the light of her brother's life and she has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger. I can't wait to watch all the things that this little girl will do.

I think most Moms will agree with what I'm getting ready to say. I enjoyed my first baby immensely. I loved the experience of becoming a Mom. However, I worried and second-guessed myself so much that a little bit of the joy was overshadowed by anxiety and exhaustion. However, with my second baby, I was much more sure of myself and my decisions. I was more able to enjoy the moments and I mean all of them. The middle of the night feedings with Lilly were even enjoyable because I realized how fast they went and that she would only be this tiny little newborn for a little while and I savored it. I didn't push her to turn over, crawl, or walk too early as I looked forward to with Noah. I have let her be my little baby, and I've enjoyed every second of it.

Travis and I discuss the idea of having more kids, but right now, we are perfectly content with the family God has blessed us with. We have two beatifully healthy kids and if that is all we every have, I couldn't have asked for more.

We're waiting to have the party after Daddy gets home, but we did have some fun yesterday. We took sis to Toys'R'Us and bought a big toy. We went to the paintin' place and did a footprint tile and then we came home and had a cupcake (allergen free that is!) We had a great day even though we missed Dad alot and brother was sick, we still made the best of it.